138 SALMONID.E. 



choice of situation in the stream the Grayling is known to 

 be, experiment has proved that this fish will live in ponds 

 that have been newly made in hard soil, or in such as have 

 been very recently and carefully cleaned out ; but in these 

 situations the Grayling docs not breed, and they will not 

 continue to live in old muddy ponds. The ova of this fish 

 are numerous, large, and of a deep orange colour ; the spawn- 

 ing season is in April, or the beginning of May ; in this re- 

 spect differing from the other SalmonidtK, most, if not all, 

 of which spawn towards the end of the year, and generally 

 in cold weather. The Grayling, however, is in the finest 

 condition in October and November, when Trout are out of 

 season, not having then recovered the effects of their recent 

 spawning. 



The food of the Grayling, as ascertained by examination, 

 besides the various flies imitations of which are successfully 

 used by anglers, consists also of the larvae of Phryganea, 

 Ephemera, and Libellula ; the remains of the cases of the 

 former, and the tough skins of all of them, being frequently 

 found in their stomachs. I have found also several small 

 shells, examples of the genus Physa, and Neritina fluvia- 

 tilis. Dead shells and small pebbles are also found ; but 

 whether these last are taken up by the fish to serve any 

 useful purpose, as in the stomachs of gallinaceous birds, 

 or have only formed part of the cases of the Phri/ganea, may 

 be questioned. 



Some English authors have considered the Grayling a 

 migratory fish, passing the winter in the sea, and the sum- 

 mer in fresh water. " Early in spring," says Mr. Donovan, 

 " they ascend the rivers, where they remain till autumn, 

 and then return to their former element." This may apply 

 to Grayling on some parts of the European continent,* but 

 is not the case certainly with our fish in this country, in the 



* Bloch says the Grayling descends to the Baltic in autumn. 



